America 1919

Donnie took the red wine from Douglas's hands and passed it to Jessica Dole to let it breathe; he then sat down with the four of them on the sofa outside the villa.

"Mary, Douglas, I believe Charlie and David must have already discussed this with you two before, now I want to know, as for my acquisition of 20% of United Artists' shares for 700,000 US Dollars, you two shouldn't have any objections, should you?"

Donnie's stake in the company had already been discussed with Charlie Chaplin and Douglas, and the shareholding was the result of their negotiations.

With this 20% stake, Donnie would become the third largest shareholder of United Artists, only behind Charlie Chaplin and Griffith, owning more than Pickford and Douglas, but since now the four of them were united as one, Donnie's shares wouldn't actually play a decisive role in the company's operations.

"Donnie, we're already aware of this, and we have no objections to the decision!" Douglas said with a smile.

Actually, if it weren't for Donnie's decision to invest in United Artists, Douglas would have lost all interest in running the company, to the point that just last month, he had agreed to shoot and star in a movie for Universal.

Now with Donnie's involvement, at least his losses had been reduced.

"Right, Donnie, let's talk about the actors' guild, directors' guild, and the screenwriters' association we're going to establish!"

Pickford said somewhat excitedly.

When Donnie wanted to invest in United Artists and enter Hollywood, he was always thinking of ways to break the monopoly that the big Hollywood studios held over the American film industry.

He had even thought about whether he could follow Hong Kong's film development strategy by uniting independent small cinemas and establishing his own exclusive theater chain.

If that were the case, he could break the distribution monopoly of the big Hollywood studios!

However, after conducting research, Donnie discovered that this was utterly impossible.

Hong Kong could do it because it is a small place, and it was easy to unite those small and medium-sized cinemas.

But the United States is different; the country is too large, and it would take at least a year and a half to unite these cinemas, and most importantly, why would they want to join him?

The situation of the Five Peaks Sword Sect is clear for all to see. Everyone knows that if the Five Peaks Sword Sect could merge into one sect, they would definitely become a very powerful one, but why didn't it succeed?

Isn't it because the people from the five sects each have their own agendas?

Even the initiator was no different.

The same applies to the United States. Why would a cinema owner who is doing fine on his own want to join with you and go against the big Hollywood studios?

There is no reason at all!

If those big studios decided to cut off their film supply in retaliation, and United Artists wasn't able to provide sufficient films, wouldn't he be the one to suffer?

So, Donnie briefly considered integrating the small and medium-sized theater chains, but then he gave up the idea entirely!

Ultimately, the solution Donnie came up with was to establish Hollywood's actors' guild, directors' guild, and screenwriters' association ahead of time.

Historically, the United States actors' guild was formed in 2012 through the merger of the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.

The Screen Actors Guild itself was established in 1933!

That is to say, there were currently no actors' guilds in the United States!

At the same time, the Directors Guild of America was established even later, in 1938, although back then it was called the Screen Directors Guild.

As for the screenwriters' guild, it was actually the longest established, and if nothing unexpected happened, it would be established this year.

Donnie, of course, didn't know the exact establishment dates of these three unions, but all he needed to know was that they had not yet been established!

The three major Hollywood unions could be said to be a major headache for Hollywood's employers, for they would occasionally go on strike.

Donnie also knew that once he had established a foothold in Hollywood, it would essentially mean that he was representing the Hollywood employers, which in turn meant that at some point in the future, these three unions would undoubtedly become a thorn in his side as well.

But there was no choice at the moment. The big Hollywood factories had already completely controlled the upper, middle, and lower streams of the American film industry.

If he wanted to make an impact in Hollywood at this time, he'd have to let these three monsters out first.

"Anyway, if I don't do it, these three unions will eventually come into existence in the future. If I do it now, I can control these three unions better, which in turn will be to my advantage!"

Donnie consoled himself with this thought.

It was also the crucial bargaining chip he used to persuade Charlie Chaplin, Griffith, Mellon Bank, and Morgan!

"This can only happen if you four take the lead. Besides funding, there's nothing else I can provide personally!"

Donnie said with a smile.

To make this a reality, it was necessary to have influential figures from Hollywood involved, and who could be more prestigious in the current Hollywood than Chaplin and his companions?

"No, Donnie, there's a lot you can do. Although we can gather all these actors, directors, and screenwriters from Hollywood, we actually have no concept of how to properly organize everything.